# Limit orders

Stop staring at the chart. Set the buy or sell price you actually want and the bot watches the market 24/7 — when it touches your level, the order fires automatically with the same MEV protection as a manual swap.

## How it works

1. **Pick the token** — paste a contract address or select from your watchlist.
2. **Pick a side** — buy or sell.
3. **Set the target price** — in USD or as a percentage above/below the current price.
4. **Set the size** — fixed amount, percentage of wallet, or "all of it".
5. **Set the expiry** — minutes, hours, days, or "until cancelled". Default is 30 days.
6. **Confirm.** The order is now live.

When the market touches your target, the bot triggers the swap with your saved slippage cap. You get a Telegram notification with the actual fill details.

## Multiple legs on the same token

You can stack as many limit orders as you want on the same token. Common patterns:

* **Laddered entries** — three buys at -5%, -10%, -20% from current.
* **Scaled exits** — sell 25% at +30%, 25% at +60%, 50% at +100%.
* **Stop-loss + take-profit** — one sell at -15% (loss cap) and one at +40% (target).

The bot manages all of them in parallel. As fills land, the bot updates your position and notifies you each time.

## What happens at trigger time

The trigger isn't blind. When your target hits, the bot:

1. Re-checks liquidity to make sure the swap can actually go through.
2. Quotes the trade with the current best route.
3. Compares the quote to your slippage cap.
4. **Fires** if it fits, or **skips and waits for the next chance** if it doesn't.

That last point matters: in thin liquidity, "the price hit" doesn't always mean "you can actually fill at that price". The bot won't blow through your slippage cap to force an execution.

{% hint style="info" %}
**The order doesn't die when it skips.** It remains active until expiry. The next time the price touches your level with healthy liquidity, it fires.
{% endhint %}

## Cancelling and editing

Open `/limits` to see all your active orders. Tap any of them to cancel or edit (target price, size, expiry, slippage).

## Common commands

```
/limit         Open the limit-order wizard
/limits        List your active limit orders
/limit cancel  Cancel an order by ID
```

## FAQ

**How long do limit orders stay open?**\
As long as you set them — minutes, days, or until you cancel. Default expiry is 30 days.

**What if my target hits but liquidity is thin?**\
The order tries to fill under your slippage cap. If that would breach the cap, it skips and waits for the next chance. The order doesn't die — it keeps watching until expiry.

**Can I stack multiple orders on the same token?**\
Yes. Pile up buys and sells — the bot manages them all in parallel and clears each as it fills.

**Do I pay a fee on a limit order that never fires?**\
No. Fees apply only when an order actually executes. Unfilled orders are free.

## What to read next

* [Multi-chain swap](/trading/multichain-swap.md) — the same execution engine, for instant trades
* [DCA](/trading/dca.md) — schedule recurring buys instead of a single target
* [Autotrading AI](/automation/autotrading-ai.md) — let the bot decide when to enter and exit


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.ayebot.io/trading/limit-orders.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.